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International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making

Vol. 9, No. 4 (2010) 625644
c World Scientic Publishing Company


DOI: 10.1142/S0219622010003981

THE MEDIATE EFFECT OF TRUST ON

ORGANIZATIONAL ONLINE KNOWLEDGE SHARING:
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

LI-AN HO
Department of Educational Technology, Tamkang University
No. 151, Ying-chuan Rd., Tamsui 25137, Taiwan
lianho@mail.tku.edu.tw
TSUNG-HSIEN KUO
Testing Center, Securities and Futures Institute
5F. No.3, Nan-Hai Rd., Taipei 10066, Taiwan
love8671@gmail.com
CHINHO LIN
Department of Industrial and Information Management and Management
National Cheng Kung University, No. 1
University Rd., Tainan 701, Taiwan
linn@mail.ncku.edu.tw
BINSHAN LIN
College of Business Administration
Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Shreveport
LA 71115, USA
Binshan.Lin@LSUS.edu

This study proposes a conceptual structural equation model to investigate the relationships among knowledge management system quality, employee computer attitude, trust
at workplace and online knowledge sharing. We demonstrate the direct and indirect
eect of trust on online knowledge sharing from the perspectives of system quality and
computer attitude. An empirical study is conducted in three technological companies
(n = 451) in Taiwan and the collected survey data are used to test the relationships
among the four dimensions expressed in the proposed structural equation model. The
results show that trust at workplace has a mediating eect on online knowledge sharing
within organizations. It is also discovered that there is signicant correlation between
IT quality, employees computer attitude and online trust at workplace. The conceptual
model provides useful information for managers to enhance knowledge sharing through
the promotion of trust at workplaces.
Keywords: Trust; knowledge sharing; system quality; computer attitude.

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1. Introduction
The recent advances in information technology (IT) has open a new era, in which
the success of organizations are vitally dependent on the adaptation and application of new and existing knowledge assets on key business processes.1 As Ho2 points
out, traditional organizational management is no longer considered an appropriate
strategy in this highly competitive global market, especially in developing countries.
Businesses must compete for their survival through continuous improvement and
innovation to maintain or gain market advantage. Thus, resistance to such innovative adjustment is likely to result in uncompetitive enterprises.3 Knowledge, as
a form of intangible asset, is evidently becoming the key factor in competitive differentiation in many sectors within todays rapid expansion of the goods market.4
Teece5 claims the competitiveness of modern enterprises is dependent on the eective acquisition and utilization of knowledge. Consequently, knowledge workers have
become the most vital asset in knowledge-based societies.6
Knowledge is considered the most important resource in organizations.7
Jantunen8 states that knowledge is posited in an organization as a strategic asset
which helps the rm sustain its competitive ability in a complex global market.
The characteristics and problems of knowledge vary due to the dierences in the
nature of businesses and geographic locations.9 Dieng et al.10 describe knowledge
management as a form of corporate memory design representing the resources and
know-how of an enterprise. They further suggest that corporate memory can be
dierentiated into (a) professional memory, which comprises of references, documents, tools and methods used in a given profession and (b) individual memory,
which consists of competencies and know-how of a given member in the enterprise.
The purpose of knowledge management is to facilitate organizations that are able
to access and reuse existing knowledge to enhance organizational processes.11 Thus,
knowledge management supports people to innovate, to collaborate, and to make
correct decisions eciently; in short, it helps getting people to act by focusing on
high-quality knowledge.12
Furthermore, with the continuous improvement and availability of IT, organizations have implemented and integrated such technologies into business functions13
as a method of facilitating ecient internal ow of knowledge.14,15 The results
of an eective knowledge management system indicate that the employees within
an organization are able to access and apply knowledge to improve their business
operations.4 However, in spite of extensive investment in computerized information
infrastructures to improve the organization and sharing of knowledge, many organizations have not received correlated results.16 Feng et al.17 argue that increasing
IT investment alone does not ensure better business performance or distribution of
information among employees. The distribution, sharing and application of knowledge are a complex system within the social network of an organization.18
Past studies have examined the management and distributions of knowledge
within organizations in various settings.1923 For instance, Peng et al.24 have

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evaluated and presented the longitudinal changes of data mining and knowledge
discovery research. Among many factors that may aect the eect of knowledge
management, Renzl25 highlights the importance of interpersonal trust in general
and trust in management on knowledge sharing. Renzl argues trust in management
increases knowledge sharing through reducing fear of losing ones unique value and
at the same time, improving the individuals willingness to document knowledge.
Cook and Wall26 propose that trust, in general, between individuals and groups
within an organization is extremely imperative in the long-term stability of the
organization and the well-being of its members. Even so, Yang and Farn27 reveal an
interesting phenomenon that tacit knowledge sharing intention does not necessarily
lead to tacit knowledge sharing behavior unless moderate external control is taken
into account. In the same line of argument, some researchers such as Lin et al.4 and
Bhatt28 propose that successful implementation of knowledge management involves
the coordination of people, technology and process within an organization.
It is evident that there are a number of causal links which must be considered
in understanding how an organization can implement eective knowledge management. The combination of IT and personal drive to obtain knowledge within
an organization inuences the method and eectiveness of knowledge acquisition.
This study attempts to look at factors which result in improved knowledge sharing
through the proposal and empirical validation of a theoretical model. The model
incorporates four major dimensions, namely (1) the IT quality for knowledge management systems, (2) employee computer attitude for using knowledge management
systems within organizations, (3) trust at workplace to elicit online knowledge sharing intention and behavior, and (4) the employees perception of knowledge sharing
within organizations. The following section constructs the theoretical background
upon which the proposed model is created.
2. Theoretical Development
In this section reviews literature to identify the relationship between knowledge
management system quality, computer attitude, trust at workplace, and knowledge
sharing.
2.1. IT quality and knowledge sharing
Hansen et al.29 have proposed that knowledge intensive organizations often adopt
two dierent types of knowledge strategy for knowledge management: codication
versus personalization. While a codication strategy refers to the capturing and
storing of knowledge in explicit forms so that it can be distributed and used by
others, a personalization strategy refers to the facilitating and encouraging of interpersonal sharing of tacit knowledge. IT in the former scenario is used to support the
storage of knowledge and its retrieval by people across the organization, and in the
latter scenarios is used to extend peoples interpersonal networks and enhance their
ability to communicate with one another. Consequently, an extensive amount of

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researches in knowledge management have focused on the design, development,

implementation and evaluation of IT in support of managing intangible assets
in organizations.3034 Thus, it can be concluded that the concept of knowledge
management has centered on the implementation of IT in support of managing
knowledge assets in an enterprise. According to Gottschalk,35 IT is an eective
means to support the storage, organization and distribution of knowledge among
workers.
Hence, IT plays a critical role in knowledge management by allowing for ecient
distribution and access of knowledge through a combination of communication,
collaborative, articial intelligence and business intelligence technologies.36,37 As
Harrison and Daly38 mention, eective use of IT ensures timely access and exchange
of knowledge to aid decision making. However, while IT is not a substitute for
knowledge, it is an indispensable tool which supports discovery of useful knowledge
through data mining and database knowledge discovery. In stressing the role of IT
in knowledge management, Sher and Lee39 contend that no matter how eective
and ecient is the knowledge creation process of a rm, knowledge management
is useless for competitive ends unless communication and application systems are
well developed to permeate every aspect of business operations (p. 935). Based on
previous research ndings, hereby we present the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1. A higher level of knowledge management system quality within the
organization will facilitate higher levels of knowledge sharing activities.

2.2. Computer attitude and knowledge sharing

Fishbein and Ajzen40 propose the theory of reasoned action, which speculates that
beliefs about an object lead to an attitude about it and this attitude leads to
behavioral intentions regarding the object. It has been hypothesized that computer attitudes aect users behavioral intentions, which aect users actual usage
of computers.41 Throughout the body of the related researches, a number of
researchers have focused on the study of dierent dimensions of attitudes toward
computers, such as anity, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and so on.42
In particular, Lua et al.43 discover that users perceived usefulness and perceived
enjoyment signicantly inuence their attitude towards using computers, which in
turn impacts their behavioral intention. Therefore, it is evident that users technology perceptions have fundamental relevance to online behaviors.44
Moreover, Lin et al.45 state that technology readiness and acceptance have signicant eect on users adoption of technological innovations. Similar correlations
between computer attitudes and online behaviors can also be found in educational
settings. For example, van der Rhee et al.46 suggest that learners who are more
technology-ready are more likely to participate in a variety of online courses. As a
result, it can be concluded that users technological capabilities can inuence their
motivations to source knowledge.47 Based on above reviewed studies, the following

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hypothesis is presented:
Hypothesis 2. A higher level of employee computer attitude will facilitate higher
levels of knowledge sharing activities.
2.3. Trust at workplace and knowledge sharing
The signicant of trust within organization has been articulated by both researchers
and practitioners.48 However, existing literate lacks a single denition of trust49
since trust is a complex construct that is not fully understood.50 Cook and Wall26
dene trust as an element acting between individuals and groups within organizations are a highly important ingredient in the long term stability of the organization and the well being of its members (p. 39). They further conclude that
there are three main approaches in the empirical investigation that can be used to
distinguished trust. The rst approach refers to infer trust indirectly from other
forms of behaviors. The second approach is to create a situation where the development of trust is essential to prescribed task performance. Thus the level the
performance becomes an indicator of the degree to which trust has developed. The
third approach is measuring trust as a direct experience using self-report scales.
The latter approach is the most widely recognized and applied means to measure
trust in recent literature.25,51,52
As IT becomes increasingly popular as a knowledge-sharing tool in contemporary organizations, encouraging employees to seek knowledge from IT remains an
important issue for researchers and practitioners. Yang and Farn27 suggest that
intention to share tacit knowledge sharing intention can be induced by aect-based
trust. Renzl25 discovers that trust in management increases knowledge sharing
through reducing fear of losing ones unique value and improving willingness to
document knowledge. And even it has not been adequately addressed in related
literature; He et al.51 argue that trust has been widely recognized in many studies
as an important enabling factor for seeking knowledge. In accordance with these
observations, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis 3. A higher level of trust at workplace will facilitate higher levels of
knowledge sharing activities.
2.4. IT quality and trust at workplace
In todays fast innovative workplace, IT faces many new challenges to conquer
the requirements of multiple and exible ways of working in all industries. Thus,
it is critical to have exible and ecient ways of working through technology
initiatives.53 However, establishing such eective IT functions involves a number of parties, such as CEOs, clients, IT managers, project managers, end-users
and consultants, work collaboratively to solve problems and take advantages of
new opportunities.54 Davenport et al.55 suggest adequate investment in knowledgeoriented technology can support the management of knowledge. Thus, quality IT

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functions play an important role in knowledge management by assisting workers

with feasible solutions to particular performance problems. Money and Turner56
have presented the importance of perceived usefulness and ease of use to encourage
IT usage.
Past studies present supporting evidence for the correlation between trust and
IT adoption.51 He et al.51 further examine and identify the relationships between
the knowledge seekers trust in the community of knowledge management system
users, their perceptions toward the system (perceived usefulness and perceived seeking eorts), and the intention to continually use the knowledge system. In addition,
Chen57 suggests that the existence of a quality knowledge management system can
in turn improve employees willingness and condence to acquire knowledge. In the
eld of electronic commerce, studies have identied playfulness, trust, information
richness, system quality, perceived usefulness and ease of use of IT to be highly
correlated. It implies that information richness and system quality have signicant
impact on user acceptance, adoption and application of online activities.58 Based
on previous research ndings, a further hypothesis is presented:
Hypothesis 4. A higher level of knowledge management system quality will result
in higher levels of trust at workplace.
2.5. Computer attitude and trust at workplace
The utilization of knowledge management systems has meant that there is a need
for knowledge workers who are willing to actively acquire, share and apply the
knowledge in solving problems within the work environment.59 In their study, Ong
et al.60 proposed a new construct, perceived credibility, to examine the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in explaining engineers decisions to
accept the integration of IT in workplaces. Their study implies a correlation between
the technology adoption and trust in information systems within organizations. In
addition, Wild et al.61 state that the implementation of various information systems to support knowledge sharing is inuenced by the culture in an organization.
Facione et al.62 argue the eective use of knowledge sharing needs a supportive
environment, in which employees are willing and condent to share.
Ranaweera et al.44 contend that despite the importance of individual perception
of trust disposition, risk aversion, and technology readiness, they have received limited attention. They further explore and conclude that there is strong correlation
between risk aversion, trust disposition, and technology readiness in an online collaborative environment. Taylor et al.63 discover that satisfaction, trust and value
perceived from using the online system may be as important as technology readiness
in terms of explaining the variance associated with behavioral intentions to use the
online systems for information management. In this study, Yousafzai64 examines the
role of trust in internet banking and uncover that trust and perceived risk are direct
antecedents of intention, which indicatie uncertainty reduction as a key element in
users acceptance of internet banking. Furthermore, Yousafzai identies trust as

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H1

IT quality

631

Knowledge
sharing

H4
H3
H2
Computer
attitude

H5

Trust

Fig. 1. The proposed model of mediating eect of trust on the relationship between IT quality,
computer attitude and knowledge sharing.

a multidimensional construct, which implies that perceived trustworthiness, perceived security, perceived privacy of online systems are antecedents of trust. Based
on above studies, we propose the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 5. A higher level of employee computer attitude will result in higher
level of trust at workplace.
Based on the above reviewed literature, the research structure for the present
study is shown in Fig. 1.
3. Study
The following section presents details of the study on the proposed model of the
mediating eect of trust at workplace on the relationship between knowledge management system quality, computer attitude, and knowledge sharing tested through
covariance structure analysis using LISREL.
3.1. Measures
The questionnaire is composed of ve parts including: IT quality, computer attitudes, trust at workplace, knowledge sharing, and personal background (i.e. gender, age, and length of work experience at the present organization). The questions
were answered using a ve-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly
agree). All constructs were measured using existing and tested scales. The wording
of the items was adapted to the context of the companies. Detailed denitions of
the dimensions are described in the following sections.
IT quality
This study adopts the three-factor model of IT quality dimension proposed by Medina and Chaparro.65 The model includes the three most studied elements in the

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modern world:
(1) The information quality: Refers to the appropriateness, update-ness, usefulness,
accuracy, completeness, and relevance of the knowledge management system
content.
(2) The system quality: Refers to the friendliness, awlessness, eciency, and
adaptability of the knowledge management system content.
(3) The service quality: Refers to the tangible aspect of the system, which refers to
sta reliability, responsibility, and empathy as well as the learners condence
in online sta.
Computer attitude
The study adapted and modied the computer attitude model proposed by Loyd
and Gressard.66 The measure contains four core dimensions, which are dened as
follows:
(1) Computer anity: Refers to the extent to which an individual likes or enjoys
working with computers.
(2) Computer condence: Refers to the extent to which an individuals condence
in his/her ability to use or learn about computer.
(3) Computer usefulness: Refers to the extent to which an individual perceives the
advantages or benets of using or learning about computers.
(4) Computer anxiety: Refers to the extent to which an individual feels discomfort
and unfamiliarity towards computers.
Trust at workplace
Trust at workplace was measured using Cook and Walls26 scale on trust at workplace, which refers to mutually dependent work groups within an organization.
Trust may be placed along two dierent dimensions: (1) faith in trustworthy intentions of others sharing information online and (2) condence in the ability of others
sharing information online, yielding ascriptions of capability and reliability. Each
of these dimensions can further refer to either peer or management within organizations.
Knowledge sharing
Knowledge sharing was measured using Cummings67 scale on knowledge sharing.
The scale presents two types of knowledge sharing (1) within work groups and (2)
among work groups. The two types of knowledge sharing are concerned with information on general overviews, specic requirement, analytical techniques, progress
reports, and project results.
Table 1 shows the description statistics for the dimensions.
3.2. Sample
The data used in this research consists of questionnaire responses from participants
in three technological companies which are located in the HsinChu Science Park

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Table 1. Survey structure and description statistics for dimension.

Dimension

IT quality
Computer attitude
Trust
Knowledge sharing

Number of Items
Per Dimension

Mean

Std. Dev.

Order

Cronbachs

15
15
6
10

3.4300
3.3081
3.5155
3.5805

0.4992
0.3845
0.3664
0.3434

3
4
2
1

0.9370
0.8098
0.8778
0.8970

in Taiwan. The surveys target the technological companies that have several years
of experience implementing KM and have the IT infrastructure in place to support
the storing, sharing and utilization of knowledge among employees. Each company
has at least 400 full time employees. A total of 1200 survey questionnaires were distributed among the three companies. Among these, 467 surveys were returned and
451 were valid for analysis (valid return rate is 37.58%). The duration of data collection is between April 1st and May 30th 2009. Table 2 presents the demographics
of the sample. Non-response analysis is conducted to ensure the absence of nonresponse biases. The results show that there is no dierence between respondents
and non-respondents.
3.3. Reliability and validity
Cronbach reliability estimates were used to measure the internal consistency of
these multivariate scales.68 In this study, the Cronbach of each constructs was
greater than 0.8098, which indicates a strong reliability for our survey instrument.69
Since the item-to-total correlations of each measures was at least 0.4621, the criterion validity of each scale in this study is considered to be satisfactory.70
Both exploratory and conrmatory factor analyses were used to ensure that the
instrument has reasonable construct validity. The result of the exploratory factor
analysis and internal consistency analysis are showed in Table 3. The conrmative

Table 2. Sample characteristics.

Construct

Classication

Number

Percentage (%)

Male
Female

272
179

60.3
39.7

Age

< 30
3140
4150
> 50

66
125
213
47

14.6
27.7
47.2
10.4

Length of work experience at

the present organization

<5
510
1015
> 15

64
147
110
130

14.2
32.6
24.4
28.8

Gender

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Table 3. Factor analysis and internal consistency values for the questionnaire.

Dimension

Factor

Percentage of
Variance

Cumulative
Percentage

Item-to-Total
Correlations

Cronbachs

IT quality

System quality
Service quality
Information quality

28.466
25.125
21.121

74.712

0.6142
0.6590
0.6771

0.9175
0.9133
0.9111

Computer
attitudes

Computer
Computer
Computer
Computer

21.744
21.282
20.207
16.157

79.390

0.4778
0.4621
0.5328
0.6571

0.9286
0.9120
0.8939
0.8579

Trust

Faith
Condence

40.046
38.800

78.846

0.5777
0.5777

0.8819
0.8461

Knowledge
sharing

Intra-group
Inter-group

33.073
31.323

64.396

0.6184
0.6184

0.8731
0.8463

condence
anity
usefulness
anxiety

factor analysis which consists of the convergent and discriminant validity was analyzed following Campbell and Fiskes71 criteria. Discriminant validity was examined
by counting the number of times an item correlates higher with items from other
factors than with items from its own factor.72 Campbell and Fiske suggest that
this number should be less than 50 percent. Results also show adequate discriminant validity. Jointly, the constructs in this study exhibit both convergent and
discriminant validity.
4. Data Analysis and Results
The structural equation modeling approach is a multivariate statistical technique
for testing structural theory72 that incorporates both observed and latent variables.
The analysis for the present study was conducted using LISREL 8.52 and utilizing
the maximum likelihood method. In the proposed model (Fig. 1), IT quality and
computer attitude are considered exogenous variables, and knowledge sharing is
considered an endogenous one, while trust at workplace (i.e. mediate factor) serves
as both an endogenous (to IT quality and computer attitude) and an exogenous
variable (to knowledge sharing).
The individual questionnaire items were aggregated into specic factor groups.
The following four rules were utilized for the statistical examination of the proposed
model illustrated in Fig. 1: (1) Each observed variable has a nonzero loading on
the latent factor within the structure, but has a loading of zero towards other
latent factors, (2) there are no relationships among measurement errors for observed
variables, (3) there are no relationships among the residuals of latent factors, and
(4) there are no relationships among residuals and measurement errors. The results
of t of the internal structure of model are given in Table 4.
Table 5 presents the results of the t test of the overall model. The absolute t measures (GFI = 0.98, AGFI = 0.97, and RMSEA = 0.027) indicate that the

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Table 4. Fit of the internal structure of model.

Dimensions

Factors

Individual Item
Reliability

Composite
Reliability

Average Variance
Extracted (AVE)

IT quality

System quality
Information quality
Service quality

0.52
0.59
0.64

0.81

0.58

Computer attitude

Computer
Computer
Computer
Computer

0.62
0.59
0.62
0.55

0.85

0.60

Trust

Faith
Condence

0.59
0.57

0.73

0.58

Knowledge sharing

Intra-groups
Inter-groups

0.62
0.62

0.77

0.62

anity
condence
usefulness
anxiety

Table 5. Fit of the overall model.

Measures

Indicators

Absolute Fit Measures

Chi-Square with 31.72 Degrees of Freedom = 24 (P = 0.01)

Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.98
Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.027
P-Value for Test of Close Fit (RMSEA < 0.05) = 0.95
Expected Cross-Validation Index (ECVI) = 0.16
90 Percent Condence Interval for ECVI = (0.15; 0.21 )
ECVI for Saturated Model = 0.20
ECVI for Independence Model = 6.27
Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) = 0.97

Incremental Fit Measures

Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.99

Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI) = 1.00
Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 1.00
Incremental Fit Index (IFI) = 1.00
Relative Fit Index (RFI) = 0.98

Parsimonious Fit Measures

Parsimony Normed Fit Index (PNFI) = 0.66

Parsimony Goodness of Fit Index (PGFI) = 0.53
Critical N (CN) = 595.65
Normed chi-square 31.72/24 = 1.32

structural model either meets or exceeds the recommended levels, and thus represents a satisfactory t for the sample data collected. The Chi-square statistic
divided by the degrees of freedom also indicates a reasonable t at 1.32. It can thus
be concluded that the proposed model maintains good construct validity.
Additionally, Fig. 2 reports the values of factor loading and observed residual
for the exogenous and endogenous variables, as well as the values of parameter
estimate and their signicance levels. The analytical results of the LISREL model
reveal a satisfactory t for our sample data with the nal results shown in Fig. 2.

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0.48*

L.-A. Ho et al.

System quality
0.72*

0.41*

0.36*

Service quality

0.76*

0.79*
0.06

IT Quality

Intra-group

0.38*

Inter-group

0.38*

Faith

0.41*

Knowledge
sharing
2
R = 0.85

0.80*

0.79*

Information
quality

0.45*
0.84*

0.38*

Computer
confidence

0.78*
0.06
0.77*

0.41*

Computer
affinity

0.77*

0.79*
0.38*

Computer
usefulness

Computer
attitude
0.41*

Trust at
workplace
2
R = 0.51
Confidence

0.43*

0.75*
-0.74*

0.45*

Computer anxiety

Note: * p < .001 (| t | > 3.29)

Fig. 2. Analytical results of IT quality, computer attitude and knowledge sharing within and
between teams, mediated through trust at workplace.

Figure 2 indicates that IT quality and computer attitude signicantly inuence

the mediators, trust at workplace: IT quality aects trust at workplace ( = 0.45,
p < 0.001) and computer attitude aects trust at work ( = 0.41, p < 0.001).
The mediator, trust, has a signicant impact on knowledge sharing ( = 0.84,
p < 0.001). Thus, three out of the ve hypothesized relationships (i.e. Hypothesis
3, Hypothesis 4, and Hypothesis 5) were signicantly supported by the sample data.
However, to further test the mediating eect that trust at workplace has on the
relationship between IT quality, computer attitude and knowledge sharing within
and between teams, Baron and Kennys73 logic was applied. This states that a
variable functions as a mediator when it meets the following three conditions: (1) the
independent variables signicantly inuences the mediating variable (path a), (2)
the mediating variable signicantly inuences the dependent variable (path b), and
(3) when paths a and b are controlled, a previously signicant relation between the
independent variable and the dependent variable is no longer signicant. Following
Baron and Kennys logic, the direct eect of IT quality and computer attitude on
knowledge sharing was tested as a rst step. Here the paths were signicant (see
Fig. 3). After introducing the mediator variable (i.e. trust), these path became
insignicant (see Fig. 2), indicating that trust at workplace has a fully mediating
eect on knowledge sharing.

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The Mediate Eect of Trust on Organizational Online Knowledge Sharing

0.49*

0.41*

0.36
*

System
quality

Service
quality

0.72*

0.77*

IT Quality

0.80*

0.43*

Information
quality

0.79*
0.41*

0.41*

Computer
affinity

Intra-group

0.38*

Inter-group

0.38*

0.79*

0.77*

0.79*
0.38*

0.79*

Knowledge
sharing
2
R = 0.51

0.38*
Computer
confidence

637

Computer
Attitude

Computer
usefulness
-0.73*

0.46*

Computer
anxiety

Note: *p <. 001 (| t | > 3.29)

Fig. 3. Analytical results of IT quality, computer attitude and knowledge sharing with and between
teams.

To summarize, all conditions were met for demonstrating that trust at workplace
mediates the link between IT quality, computer attitude and knowledge sharing.
First, IT quality and computer attitude have a positive impact on knowledge sharing
when trust at workplace was not included in the testing model (see Fig. 3). However,
the signicance eect of both IT quality and computer attitude on the outcome
variable (i.e. knowledge sharing) disappeared after the mediating variable of trust
at workplace was included (see Fig. 2). In addition, as the trust is the mediating
position in the testing model, IT quality and computer attitude demonstrate a
positive and signicant impact on the mediator trust at workplace, and the mediator
has a signicant inuence on knowledge sharing. Therefore, we conclude that trust
at workplace mediate the relationship between IT quality, computer attitude, and
knowledge sharing.
5. Conclusion and Implication
This study contributes empirical data to the predominantly theoretical literature
on knowledge management in general, and trust and knowledge. The ndings of

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this study clearly extend prior research, showing that trust at a work cyberspace
has an impact on online knowledge sharing among individuals and work teams. The
concept of trust is complex and it is not clear from prior research how it aects the
eect of quality knowledge management systems and individual acceptance toward
knowledge management systems on knowledge sharing. This study claries that
relationship by providing evidence that trust at workplace plays a mediating role
between system quality, employee computer attitude and knowledge sharing. Thus,
the study contributes to the eld by providing a more detailed understanding of
the mediate eect of trust at workplace for the purpose of knowledge management.
These ndings have important implications both at a practical managerial and
theoretical level.
This study shows that knowledge management is not just a matter of system
quality and employee ability, i.e. how to articulate knowledge, but also, and to an
even greater extent, a matter of the willingness of the parties involved. In a trusting
atmosphere individuals are more willing to share or contribute knowledge. Second,
the mediating eect of trust at workplace on the relationship between system quality
and computer attitude and knowledge sharing demonstrates another psychosocial
aspect of the way in which trust aects individuals online cooperative behaviors.
For instance, trust may decrease the fear of losing ones distinctive value in the
knowledge sharing process.25
For managers, this paper emphasizes the need to consider motivational factors while promoting knowledge management as indicated in recent studies.7479
Acknowledging individuals central role in the knowledge sharing process is vital.
It is evident that the social environment may promote or hamper successful knowledge sharing,80 which is in line with our nding that trust at workplace is of signicant importance in inuencing the way employees interact with each other and
whether they are willing to share knowledge with each other in cyberspace. Thus,
in order to help employees to overcome their unwillingness to share knowledge
online, appropriate incentive or education systems and organizational policies have
to be developed and planned accordingly81,82 which may foster a knowledge-friendly
culture,79 thus establish an atmosphere of openness for knowledge sharing.80 The
results of the present study suggest that managers may nd it benecial to support trusting relationships in order to improve the ow of knowledge sharing in
organizations.
On the theoretical level, this study provides empirical evidence showing trust is
an important aspect on knowledge sharing in two ways: enhancing the usefulness
of online knowledge management systems as well as employees acceptance of the
online knowledge systems. The present study emphasizes once more the importance
of psychosocial variables in understanding the dynamics of knowledge sharing, as
previously highlighted in the knowledge management literature.83 For instance,
Zarraga and Bonache84 provide evidence that given a favorable atmosphere, in
which mutual trust, active empathy, lenience in judgment, courage, and access
to help are nurtured, individuals can be encouraged to share knowledge within

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organizations. However, it was necessary to provide further theoretical conceptualizations as well as detailed empirical evidence for the psychosocial phenomena that
enable knowledge sharing in organizations.
To summarize, this study contributes empirical data to the predominantly theoretical literature on knowledge management in general and trust and knowledge
sharing in particular. It is, to a certain extent, common sense that trust has a positive impact on knowledge sharing. However, this paper takes an important step
forward by detailing how trust at workplace inuences the knowledge sharing process via enhancing the eect of quality knowledge management system and the
eect of employees computer attitude.
6. Limitations and Future Studies
While the empirical data collected have largely supported the proposed model, it
is necessary to point out the limitations of this research. One limitation involves
the potential for measurement error in the self-reported survey. Even though the
responding individuals consisted of well-informed and active knowledge management system users of the participating technological companies, the existence of
possible biases or personal dierences for knowledge management systems and work
environments cannot be discounted (e.g. the level of computer literacy, the speed
of learning to use the systems, the preference of communication and collaboration
and so on).
Furthermore, it is evident that the infrastructure, content, and hardware equipment used can dier among these companies in dierent areas (e.g. suburban areas),
countries, or even those in the same urban area universities oering dissimilar
knowledge management systems.15,22 Therefore, the current data collected from
the particular organizations in Taiwan may not be fully representative of other
scenarios. Thus, future research might provide a more comprehensive population
sample or a more complete inventory of variables and extent the study in these
areas. Future research should also consider other measurements and possibly also
metrics for knowledge sharing, such as gures for actual documents shared and
other details of communication.
This study provides empirical evidence showing trust is an important aspect
in knowledge sharing. Future research might include these aspects or could extend
these aspects to examine other phenomena that inuence online knowledge sharing.
The above shortcomings may stimulate others to conduct further empirical research
in this area and encourage management initiatives to promote knowledge sharing
in organizations.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge support from Tamkang University, and the Taiwan
National Science Council under Grant Nos. 97-2410-H-032-030, 98-2511-S-032-001
(L. Ho), and 98-2752-H-006-001-PAE (C. Lin).

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